Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-11-22
aatlg gresa and 9akotaiaa
Exterm,nasion ofthe Bufralo.

November Cosmopolitan: When the
Union Pacific railway was built from
Omaha to Cheyenne. in the year 1886 Z,
it ont through the center OF the great
buffalo range, aud from it as q base of
operations the hunters swarmed north
and south, staying as they neat. Thus
Was the great herd cut In TWAIN, ne er
to be reunited. The staksi plain OF
Texas presently became the geographic
cai center OF the southern herd, and
|Glendive, Montana, that of the northern.
10 a short time the building OF the Atchi
son, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Kansas
Pacific railways thoroughly opened up
all parts OF she southern buffalo country
and III 1879 there arose o demand tor
buffalo robes that proved fatal to the
species. The war of determination be-
gan immediately, and according to the
statistics that have beeh gathered and
published by Colonel Dodge, the years
of 1872. 8 and 4 saw the destruction OF
over 4,373,735 buffalo on the southern
range. Thas was this great herd
slaughtered out of existence in sGont
three years time. T~hesurvivora sought
refuge III the desolate wastes of the
staked plain; but even there the re-
lentless hunters still pursued them,
when bull robes sold fos only 81 35
each, and the COWS were slaughtered for
skins that we're worth the paltry sum
of only 65 cents This was bad enough,
and entirely two bad, but If l could call
up before you q vision of the hundreds OF
thousands of buffaloee that we're heart
ieH5iy slain for their tongues or their
humps, or for "sporti'(D alone, you
would sieRen al the sight. Never in the
history OF tine whole animal kingdom
has there been ouch another bloody and
cruel carnage, or one that yielded go
little IN proportion to the total value in
volvea.
La 1876 the northern herd was prob
ably twenty times as large as the south
srn, aud covered twenty times "a much
territory. 1t is estimated by the buffalo
hunters that there were 100000 buff sloes
within a radius of $50 miles Of Milss
City, Mont. alone, AMI that the north
ern rage contained. over q million head.
The Northern Pacific railway was
Opened for traffic from Glendive east
ward in 1880, and the buffalo hunters
made an assault in force on the northern
herd. Buffalo hides were shipped east
wefd by the railway and the Missouri
river by 9 OF thousands, until 1884,
when the work of extermInstion was
complete. In 1886 not a. single fresh
hide was in the market, and in u year
following only two rewarded the in
quiries of the BUYERS. The bnffalo we're
gone forever, moi only the United Ststee
but from the British possessions. as we'll.
Last year the largest fur honse in
Montreal asked from $50 to $40 eaahfo r
robes, and some of the leading curriers'
of New York had none at oil.
Another fact that stares us unplsas-
antly in the face is that with the excep-
ton of the wild buffalo in rational park,
all Of which will eventually either wan
der out or be frightened ont and killed,
unless the park is enclosed by q barbed
wire fence in time to prevent il, the
maternal government has not q single
buffalo on any of of Its reservations, nor
anywhere else in charge of any one in
it's employ, Ia spite OF the attention
that is being paid in other quarters to
the development OF our animal producta
no steps whatever have teen taken TO
preserve hos Americanus from total an
inhalation. At all events, it now seems
reasonably certain that in three years
mere there will not be q wild buffalo re-.
naming on the whole continent OF North
America, except in the national park.